UWS Takes Stinger Classic

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

After getting a win on Friday night against Maranatha Baptist University, the Yellowjackets returned to the court early Saturday morning, in search of Their second consecutive win. Northland College came into today’s match with a record of 2-13. Starting next season, the Yellowjackets playing Northland College will have a little more meaning with their move to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. So today’s match was a bit of a warm-up. And the Yellowjackets treated it as such.

With a few of her main players on the bench, Yellowjacket Head Coach Lynne Deadrick played some of her less-experienced players against the Lumberjills. The match was relatively easy for the Yellowjackets, as they were able to win in three sets to move to 2-0 in the 2014 Stinger Classic. Northland put up a fight in the third set, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Yellowjackets.

Superior 3, Northland 0

The Yellowjackets got off to a fast start in the first set by jumping out to a 7-1 lead. They stretched their lead to 12 points on a kill by senior Elizabeth Koza (Washburn, Wis./Washburn) at 20-8. Later, freshman Staci Sjostrand (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) put the set away, dropping home the final kill to give the Yellowjackets a 25-11 win.

It looked like the Lumberjills were going to turn the tables in the second set, as they came out much more competitive than the opener. Northland built an early 10-5 lead over before the Yellowjackets got in gear. Superior went on an 8-1 run to take a 13-11, taking the lead on another kill by Sjostrand. The Yellowjackets finished the set on a 12-6 run to win the set 25-17 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set of the match was the most competitive of the three. Northland and Superior battled back and forth for the first 30 points of the set. The Yellowjackets took control late in the set when they got three points in a row, two of those coming via attack errors on Northland. From there, despite a late rally from Northland, the Yellowjackets earned the victory, taking the match 3-0 after winning the third set by a score of 25-20.

The Yellowjackets had 16 players record a statistic in the match, and 11 players recorded at least one kill while 13 players registered at least on dig. and they were paced offensively by Koza (12 kills) and Sjostrand (11 kills). Keely Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko) had 30 assists. Defensively by Chelsey Walerius (New Prague, Minn./Tri-City United) led the Yellowjackets with 12 digs. The Yellowjackets committed only 12 errors during the match and had a team-attack percentage of .382.

Northland was led by Cassie Baumgarten with nine kills and Alison Blackford with seven digs.

Superior 3, Bethany Lutheran 0

After a convincing victory over Northland College in the morning, UW-Superior took on the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College in a mid-day match, the final match of the 2014 Stinger Classic. Bethany Lutheran has been struggling all season long, coming in with a record of 5-15, and Superior added to their struggles with a dominating performance in a 3-0 sweep.

All of the main players were back in action for the Yellowjackets as they cruised to the easy victory. Bethany Lutheran played the Yellowjackets tough in the first set, which saw the lead change hands 14 times. Bethany Lutheran actually had the lead for the majority of the set, however, the Yellowjackets took over late on a service ace by Katie Boone (Mindoro, Wis./Melrose-Mindoro) to jump ahead 22-21. The Yellowjackets would take it from there as they went on to win the first set by a score of 25-22.

In the second set, the Yellowjackets asserted their will, more so than they did in the first set. With the score in the Yellowjackets’ favor at 9-8, they put together a string of points, seven in a row to be exact, that ended with an attack error by Bethany Lutheran’s Emily Franzen. That run fueled the Yellowjackets for the remainder of the set as they won going away by a score of 25-16.

The third set was more of the same for both teams. With Superior up 8-6, they went on another run, scoring six points in a row, to take a 14-6 lead. Bethany Lutheran tried to make a late push, but Superior’s lead was too much for them to overcome. Superior won the third set 25-17.

In the victory, Superior was led by Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko) and Leah Nightingale (Dayton, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret’s), each having 13 kills. Bandelin recorded 11 digs, as well. Deadrick had 33 more assists to push her past 1,000 for the season. Walerius was solid on defense, once again, leading the team with 14 digs.

With the three victories this weekend, Superior improved to 11-19 overall on the season with five matches remaining, including three conference games. UW-Superior will take on Finlandia University and Carleton College on Monday in a triangular at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium. The matches get underway at 4:00 p.m.